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| Cottonbro Studio |
The future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain, but a major breakthrough may be on the horizon. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed this week that President Donald Trump was prepared to let TikTok “go dark” if national security concerns were not addressed—an ultimatum that he said “turned the tide” in reaching a framework deal with China.
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is facing a September 17 deadline to either divest its U.S. operations or risk a full TikTok ban in the United States. While the Trump administration has already extended this deadline multiple times, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted that more time may still be required to finalize the agreement.
Bessent explained that the commercial terms of the TikTok deal had largely been in place since early spring. However, talks stalled after Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, when Chinese negotiators put the agreement on hold. Now, with Trump’s insistence that the U.S. would not “give up national security in favor of the deal,” discussions have regained momentum.
Why this matters
The final TikTok divestment deal will determine:
How American user data is stored and protected
Whether ByteDance retains any influence over TikTok’s U.S. operations
What role U.S. investors will play in controlling the app
Bottom line
Trump’s willingness to let TikTok “go dark” gave Washington leverage over Beijing, pushing the deal forward. As the September 17 TikTok deadline approaches, the world is watching closely to see whether the Trump TikTok deal can resolve one of the most high-profile tech disputes between the U.S. and China.
